Eulogy by Roy Snyder: February 21, 2009

It is a privilege and honor to participate in today’s service to celebrate the rich, full and all-to-brief life of Lorin.

Time does not allow us to present a detailed account of her many accomplishments and I am certain that everyone gathered here today knows of her achievements at Wilson, Rowan, the U. of florida, the mountain west conference and Princeton University.
These are just a few of her many high school and college accomplishments:

At Wilson, in addition to being an outstanding student and a member of our national honor society, she excelled on our swimming and water polo teams. She was an academic and an all-american swimmer, team captain of a squad that did not lose a dual meet in her 4 years of competition and she was a member of the 400 free relay that clinched Wilson’s first state PIAA team championship in 1994.

At rowan the success grew: she was a dean’s list student and winner of the prestigious Athletic director’s award for academic excellence. In 2000, Lorin was the new jersey conference swimmer of the year, and her record in the individual medley still is on their record board today.

In the past week I have had the opportunity to read many quotes from colleagues and friends that reveal her true character and personality. I’d like to share a few:

“Lorin was a wonderful member of the Princeton community and a very cherished colleague.”

“Lorin was avery special person because of her infectious enthusiasm and the joy she found in every facet of her life.”

“Lorin worked very hard in and out of the pool and wanted to be excellent in everything she did.”

"The thing about Lorin that was just so wonderful was that she genuinely got fulfillment out of making others happy….she would do all the little things to make you feel good.”

“Lorin’s passion for sports was reflected in the devotion she put into her job on an everyday basis.”

“She was extremely talented, professional and very dedicated.”

“I think my favorite memories of Lorin are when I saw her helping little kids to get on the ice at Baker rink or throwing tee shirts in the stands before a football game to be sure the young kids were having fun.”

“She had an infectious smile and friendliness that enabled her to establish strong friendships wherever she worked. Her reach always exceeded her grasp.”

“Lorin had a very strong sense of justice and fairness, her integrity was beyond belief.”

These statements come as no surprise to all of us who knew Lorin during her formative years. Early on she displayed the traits that would lead to her later successes.

At wilson’s swim banquet in 1997, Lorin gave coach bright and Myself a book in which she captured many of our quotes that apparently had an impact on her. (She also presented us with a four year diary of every workout with notes on her perception of our workouts. These notes provided us with an insightful look at our training from a swimmers perspective and provided us with an extremely effective coaching tool.) When you read through these you come to realize that to Lorin, each day was not just a workout at the pool, it was a life lesson.

One of the quotes she noted was “always challenge yourself to the highest level.” No one did this better than Lorin, she elevated other swimmers to new heights through her daily example of hard work.

She also recorded numerous quotes referring to the importance of teamwork such as “a team is successful when no one cares who gets the credit” and “everyone counts or no one counts.” Lorin had a real understanding of the importance of synergy on a team and she was a dedicated team player. She always swam faster in relays, which in our sport, demonstrates the old cliché “ there is no “I” in team.”

As we remember Lorin, these words come to mind:

Leader

Student-athlete

Motivated

Integrity

Role model (exemplified by the impact she had on kids she coached)

Enthusiastic

Sportsmanship

Character counts

Friend

Unselfish

No excuses

Industrious

Dedicated

One of my favorite sayings and I use it every year with our swimmers is “there are people who make things happen, people who watch things happen and people who say what the heck happened”

Lorin definitely made things happen!

She elevated everyone around her. Lorin balanced her academic, social, spititual and athletic lives in an unbelievable manner. her goals were always lofty and she worked exceedingly hard to attain them, and she never, ever gave up or made excuses.

Lorin was blessed to have such a loving and devoted family. I know how proud Terry and Scott have always been of Chris and her, and Lorin was her brothers biggest supporter throughout his successful career in the pool and classroom. Her values are, no doubt, a direct reflection of her upbringing.

We are all better persons because we were touched by this very special young lady whose life will live on forever in fond memories.

Her family has established a scholarship fund at Wilson for future swimmers that exemplify her qualities. They want to pass on the torch of academic and athletic excellence that Lorin so proudly carried. We hope you will consider helping in this lasting tribute to Lorin.

God bless Lorin. God bless us all.

Did You Know?

Lorin was a swim coach for The Green Valley Country Club Swim Team while she was in high school.

Please Help!

In the wake of the tragic plane crash that took Lorin's life along with 50 others, we have been heavily campaigning for our government and the aviation industry to improve their safety practices. For more information on our efforts to improve aviation safety and to find out how you can help, please visit www.3407memorial.com